Eligible individuals who have not received the third $ 1,400 stimulus check or Child Tax Credit payments because they did not file a tax return in 2020 and 2019 still have time to apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
This may be the case for those who do not need to file taxes with the IRS because their income is low.
Those individuals have two options for requesting the checks they are eligible for: file a tax return as soon as possible - especially so the IRS "has time to process payments before the end of 2021" - or use the Child Tax tool. Credit Non-filer Sign-up Tool to provide your information to that agency.
A clarification that the IRS has made: the tool is named after the Child Tax Credit —Child Tax Credit or CTC in English— but it can be used to request the third stimulus check or some amount of the two previous aid checks that did not has reached you. This as long as you are eligible for them.
Also, people who have earned less than $ 72,000 annually in 2020 can file their return for free using the Free File tool.
The third stimulus check and 'offset' payments
"After the 2020 tax return is processed or the information placed in (the tool) Non-Filer we will automatically evaluate your eligibility for the third stimulus check, a possible compensatory payment (known in English as 'plus-up') or advance payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, "explained the IRS.
Those offset payments apply when the IRS sent the third stimulus check using information from a 2019 tax return that did not reflect possible changes in a taxpayer's finances, such as a new dependent in 2020.
In these cases, the IRS recommends filing, if they have not already done so, a 2020 tax return that contains the information that proves that the person is eligible for a higher amount of the stimulus checks.
The fastest way to get payments, the IRS has also said, is to electronically file a return and provide your bank account information so you can make a direct deposit.
Credit payments for 'enhanced' child for this year
Remember that for this year alone, eligible households will receive a credit of $ 3,600 for each child under the age of 6 and $ 3,000 for children between 6 and 17 under this credit for 'enhanced' child. That means payments will be $ 300 per month between January and December for each eligible child under the age of 6 and $ 250 per month for each eligible child between the ages of 6 and 17.
Those monthly payments are equal to half of the total amount of credit for which the person is eligible. The other half will be delivered when filing the tax return corresponding to 2021 income, that is, in the tax season of next year.